The Creative Alliance has released the lineup for Art to Dine For, its annual series of fall dinner parties benefiting the Highlandtown-based arts organization

The schedule includes some 30 dinners, brunches, cocktail parties and get-togethers, taking guests inside artists' studios, private homes, galleries, public parks and even a cemetery.

The first event, on Sept. 10, is Backstage Scoop, "an evening of white wine and high energy" with Center Stage artistic director Kwame Kwei-Armah, to be held at the Roland Park home of Creative Alliance trustees. The season concludes Nov. 10 at the Green Spring Valley home of Pam Berman, former president of the Contemporary Museum, for an avant-garde evening with artist Jordan Bernier.

Some of the parties have more of a food focus than others. Chef Chris Golder is preparing seasonal dishes at the Sept. 29 Cooking with Heart & Soul party. Charm City Chews owner Sharon Reuter escorts a walking and tasting tour through Baltimore's once-bustling Chinatown on Oct. 13.

On Oct. 25, the great-grandniece of famed Hungarian restaurateur Karoly Gundel will serve a Hungarian feast in her Inner Harbor condominium. And on Nov. 4, Spike Gjerde is preparing the food for the Jeweler and the Chef event at Mary DeMarco's Clipper Mill studio.

The cost for attending Art to Dine For parties ranges from $40 to $125.

For a complete list of events, call the Creative Alliance at the Patterson at 410-276-1651 or go to.creativealliance.org

Get sakePabu, the izakaya-style establishment at the Four Seasons Baltimore in Harbor East, is launching a new series of hourlong classes dedicated to sake. Led by the restaurant's team of in-house sake sommeliers, each Sake 101 class is an interactive tasting of five sakes. Participants will learn about sake's history and brewing process, the meanings behind different grade designations, and how production regions affect taste.

Pabu is also offering a special four-course Sake Dinner on the Tuesday following each class. The menu will change monthly and feature signatures dishes from the restaurant along with a special sake pairing for each course.

Sake 101 classes are held on the second Saturday of the month at 6 p.m. The next event is this Saturday. Classes are $25 per person and the Tuesday dinners are $75 per person.

For information or to make reservations, call 410-223-1460.

Ray of love The September issue of Every Day with Rachel Ray takes a look at nine of the best "Little Italys" in the United States, and Baltimore's own Little Italy is among them.

In the big Italian issue, which came out Aug. 8, Ray says, "Baltimore's Little Italy, a pocket of cozy brick buildings, feels like home." She directs readers to Germano's Trattoria "for a Taste of Tuscany, the home of owner Germano Fabiani" and declares the "iconic dish" of our Little Italy to be the clams casino.

A Carney closing The Barn Crab House, the longtime Carney destination for steamed crabs and live music, has closed.

On July 31, Paul Wisner, one of the Barn's current co-owners, sent out an email confirming the closing. In the letter, Wisner indicated that he would try to reopen The Barn with a new set of investors.